Healthcare Decision Support

Referrals & Consults

630-527-3000, pager 2674

When a healthcare choice also involves an ethical concern -- such as a family member's wish to refuse life-sustaining treatment -- decision-making can become overwhelming. At Edward you're not alone when faced with these and other difficult bio-ethical decisions. Edward's multi-disciplinary Bioethics Committee is available to help ease the pressure by providing objective and well-informed counsel.

The Bioethics Committee can help Employees, physicians, patients and their families can call for a consultation from one or more members of the Edward Bioethics Committee when faced with bioethical dilemmas. These decisions often involve end-of-life situations, pain management, comfort care, or the patient's ability to make decisions for himself.

The committee is made up of doctors, nurses, chaplains of various denominations, social workers, educators and community members. All have a special interest in examining ethical principles, such as the patient’s rights and the healthcare system’s responsibilities.

Consultations are available on an informal basis — either one-to-one or in a small group — or, when appropriate, on a more formal basis with the entire committee. In either case these sessions offer a safe, confidential forum for discussing the issues from an ethical perspective. The ultimate goal is to help the patient and/or their family members in making their own decisions.

To request a consult, call (630) 527-3000 and ask for pager 2674 or for the Bioethics pager to be called. This is a 24-hour pager number. The Bioethics Committee chairperson is Lynn Jackman, RN, a clinical nurse educator in Edward's cardiac and neurological ICU.